WASHINGTON (AP) ' The Pentagon chief says the U.S. will have to make some tradeoffs and take some extra risks under the new military strategy laid out to absorb federal budget cuts.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta unveiled the strategy Thursday in a news conference with President Barack Obama and the top ranking U.S. military chief, Gen. Martin Dempsey.

Panetta said future budgets will mean smaller U.S. armed forces and some greater risk. But he said the country does not have to choose between national security and fiscal responsibility.

Panetta said at this point in history, in a changing world, the Pentagon would have been forced to make a strategy shift anyway. He says the money crisis merely forced the government to face the shift that is taking place now.